My friend Alena, whose work you've seen on here a fewtimes before, took these photos of me quite a while back. At the time, we felt like the endless winter we were stuck in (literally stuck, as in my car got stuck in the middle of the street for hours on the way her house that night) was ruining our lives, so we decided doing something creative would be the best way to get ourselves through it. And maybe conjure up some nicer weather while we were at it. We wanted to create a dreamy/springy/super pastel femme look, and Alena just killed it. Between her editing skills and my eyeliner skills, we are clearly unstoppable. Did you do anything creative to ward off icky cabin fever feels this winter? Let's hear it!

Spring has sprung, and suddenly- dare I say- I feel like a person again! I have been wearing clothes that I didn't just pull off a pile on the floor and the gray cloud of winter-induced "blahness" over my head has finally lifted. I've had a nice long break from this blog o' mine, but now it's time to get back to business. And I'm doing so with a bang- to the tune of fifty bucks.

ASOS contacted me recently, wondering if I might want to do a giveaway on my blog. Which like, duh, who is going to turn down working with their favorite clothier? I could've taken the money and run, but I decided to give it all to you guys instead for not giving up on me over the winter while I basically lived the live-action version of Frozen.

Are you mentally ready for spring, but your closet full of flowy black garb is holding you back? (AKA: my life...) Well, ASOS and I are here to help. I don't wanna be pushy or anything, but here's some things I think you might want to spend the $50 voucher on. ASOS Curve is killing it, as per usual:

To enter this contest, just follow the steps below. Contest ends this Friday, March 21st at 11:59 pm. Good luck!a Rafflecopter giveaway

Remember Eloquii? Ya know, that incredibly short-lived plus size division of The Limited? The one we were all so mad about when it folded? Well, they're back! The new site just launched today, which was a huge surprise for those of us who'd been following their progress. From their press release:

"ELOQUII
is back! The trend-driven contemporary apparel brand for
women sizes 14-24 will relaunch under new, independent ownership with
key members of the company’s original executive and design teams. The
new ELOQUII will launch on February 20, 2014 as an e-commerce site
designed for the fashion-savvy consumer shopping
for trend-right styles from the runway.

In
its first iteration under The Limited, ELOQUII became a successful
plus-size fashion brand with a loyal and vocal consumer audience.
Despite early success and rapid month
after month growth since the 2011 launch, The Limited closed the
division in early 2013 as a result of corporate restructuring.

The
company did not foresee what would happen next: dozens of influential
fashion bloggers and loyal customers took to digital and social media to
express their loss of a favorite
fashion resource, demanding ELOQUII’s return.

Encouraged
by the loyalty of the consumer base, the original team connected with
Founding Investor John Auerbach to explain the vision of rebuilding
ELOQUII. The plan was to
relaunch as an independently owned brand with members of the original
team, each of whom had left The Limited in order to join the new ELOQUII
and successfully reach this underserved consumer segment: women age
20-40, size 14-24.

In
ELOQUII, Auerbach saw an investment opportunity that included an
intact, passionate group of executives, a visionary designer and a
highly engaged and sophisticated consumer
base. The new executive team includes Jodi Arnold, now creative
director, Steve Zawada, who has been named chief operating officer,
Julie Carnevale, now vice president of merchandising, Minty Zhou,
director of technical design, and Duffy Sweeney, who will
serve as vice president of technology. The team also has an ownership
stake in the brand.

New
to ELOQUII is Mariah Chase, who joins as Chief Executive Officer.
Chase will be based in New York City along with Arnold and her design
team. Merchandising, finance, operations
and distribution will be run out of Columbus, Ohio.

“Our
goal for ELOQUII is to be the leader in fashion, sizes 14-24,” states
Mariah Chase. “We’ve listened to what customers thought about the brand
prior to closing, and took
this knowledge to build an improved experience that delivers an
on-trend and price-conscious brand for a consumer who quite frankly
hasn’t had the fashion options she should.”

“We
want consumers to see ELOQUII as their go-to destination for style
inspiration,” explains Jodi Arnold. “Most designer, contemporary, and
fast-fashion brands do not offer
our size range, and what IS offered is missing the mark in our opinion.
Our girl knows all the emerging trends, she just wants them to be
executed tastefully, in her size and more importantly, readily
available.”

Chase
describes ELOQUII.com as a “social and customer driven shopping
experience anchored by must-have fashion.” Among other interactive
social features, customers will be
able to tag images of themselves wearing ELOQUII with the #XOQ
hashtag. These images will populate the website and showcase the ways
customers are wearing and styling the product. Additional social
shopping features will debut with the brand’s loyalty program,
slated to roll out soon after launch.

New
product with limited availability will debut every two to three weeks.
ELOQUII will offer on-trend product including tops and sweaters,
dresses and skirts, pants and denim,
jackets, outerwear and accessories, with prices ranging from $18 -
$198. The early Spring 2014 collection will kick off the brand’s debut offering, available exclusively on
www.ELOQUII.com.

I got an email from them last week inviting me to their launch party, which is tomorrow. There's no way I could have gone on such short notice, so I asked them to send me any insider info they could instead- and now I've got their lookbook to share with you!

There are a ton of things on the site that weren't included with the materials I was sent, so I recommend heading on over to eloquii.com to see more! I'm really impressed with the new site, and their spring collection is über chic and on trend. If you weren't into their prices before, not much has changed there, but I did find a few things under $50. I really wish I could have gone to the launch to see these items in person, but I might take a leap and try something out since shipping is free until midnight with the code FINALLY.

What do you think? Are you into this iteration of Eloquii or is it just 'meh' for you?

I've been o b s e s s e d with the Urban Decay Naked3 palette since I got my grubby hands on it a few months ago, but I was looking for a good way to spice it up a bit. I stumbled on these newish Stila shadows and thought it would be just the thing to add some dimension and visual interest to my usual looks.

A little over a year ago, one of my dearest friends asked me to take a huge leap with her. She had decided to buy out the company she worked for, Re/Dress, and move it to Cleveland. And she wanted to bring me on as her second banana. Of course I said "HELLLLL YESSSS" right away, because who wouldn't?! In the past year, I have learned so much about small business, about the inner machinations of the fashion industry, and how to work with all kinds of people. It's been a wild ride, and it's only gonna get more wild. Last spring, we shot this gorgeous editorial to promote our vintage and masculine/butch lines which we finally released yesterday (check them outif you haven't already), and I'm so pleased to finally be able to share it with my readers!

Is H&M's plus line utterly offensive to anyone else? It's nice to have some options for basics I guess, but does everything need to be so... basic? Is it wrong to expect better from H&M, purveyors of all things cute, on trend, and cheap? I dug and sifted through the virtual racks and all I came up with was this maxi dress with sheer overlay. Truth be told, I've been wearing it a ton but, like I said- it required much digging to find this treasure. You know that old adage "beggars can't be choosers?" I hate to sound whiny, but it's 2014 and I'm still wondering when I can stop being a beggar and start being a chooser when it comes to my wardrobe.

As for the chalice (my kingdom for a genuine Li'l Jon pimp cup!), pretend the blood of my enemies is in there- it will help you understand where I'm coming from.

I'm not one of those people who believe style is inborn. I think it's practiced and learned, and I'm at a point in my life where I've forced myself to accessorize for so long that I now feel naked without at least one piece of jewelry. My taste in jewelry is pretty immature and unrefined, admittedly. I'm always reaching for the piece that's going to be a conversation starter, rather than the classic piece that's going to last me forever. I don't think anything about me reads as "classy" anyway, so why not play it up? I fell in love with this fortune teller necklace from Domino Dollhouse the moment I saw it. If anyone needs a necklace like this in their life, it's obviously me. The nails are painted red. No regrets.

These boots from Twisted Shoes place this outfit firmly in Wicked Witch of the West territory, if only she were an 80s New Waver. I could totally see my beloved Siouxie Sioux rocking them (it's the fringe, really) and that's why they are now mine forever. I love that these are neither ankle boots, nor knee boots, but something in between. The heel is a bit higher than what I'm used to and therefore, I totally felt like a baby deer trying to walk in these.

With all the Drag Race I've watched, you'd think I could at least walk in a 4" heel, but alas. Until next time...

The title of this post comes from the indisputable fact that that's exactly what it looks like I'm saying in the above shot. And it's true, I really don't want no scrubs of any sort, in any aspect of life. I'm too old and too disgruntled to deal with people who don't have it together to some degree. But I digress...

I've said this before, but I wish more bloggers would post pictures from the side!

I think it goes without saying, but this dress is very, extremely short. It's actually more of a tunic than a dress. Since shooting this, I have found it to be better suited to some opaque leggings. I loved the styling of the dress on Simply Be's website (that's what really sold me on it!), so I kept the giant gold cross necklace and ankle boots look going here. Unoriginal, sure- but this dress pretty much demands to be worn with a giant jewel encrusted gold cross, no?